(PhysOrg.com) -- Harvard scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute say they have for the first time partially reversed age-related degeneration in mice, resulting in new growth of the brain and testes, improved fertility, and the return of a lost cognitive function.

Without rejuvenating your brain, you're still risking forgetting most of what you now know, only it wouldn't be because of a nice new rejuvenated brain.

I read a book recently called Long For This World, on the topic of the state of the art and current thinking related to gerontology, and though beautifully written and full of loads of great information I did not already know about how we age, about what is happening on levels macro and micro, I came away from it more pessimistic about the potential for the occasional news story like this one than I have ever been.

You pretty much have to cure every possible failure mode of the human body all at the same time, or else you are just eliminating one likely demise in favor of another. So, you have youthful balls, but still cancer. Or you've prevented certain types of cancer, but your arteries thin and rupture. And on and on.

In the end it appears that, as long as cells can possibly reproduce we are doomed to die, because the very act of cell reproduction on the enormous scale under which it occurs in our bodies guarantees that unpreventable disastrous errors will eventually creep in. Aubrey De Grey eventually proposes the actual sterilization of every cell in the human body, to be periodically reversed under controlled treatment conditions every 7 years or so, as a solution.

I'll take renewed neuroplasticity if it is available, but I'm not holding out much hope for turning back the clock on my whole body. Not in my lifetime, at any rate. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272282#Comment_272282
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272282#Comment_272282Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:15:38 -0600audientvoidFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272284#Comment_272284
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272284#Comment_272284Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:05:25 -0600Rootfireember
So no immortality for us humans. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272290#Comment_272290
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272290#Comment_272290Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:34:23 -0600SteadyUPFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272310#Comment_272310
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272310#Comment_272310Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:04:42 -0600keyofsilenceFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272312#Comment_272312
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272312#Comment_272312Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:07:13 -0600Fan
You pretty much have to cure every possible failure mode of the human body all at the same time, or else you are just eliminating one likely demise in favor of another.

Alternatively you have to extend lifespan by 'x' years, and then within those extra years find more ways (or improve on existing ways) to extend the lifespan further. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272329#Comment_272329
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272329#Comment_272329Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:22:18 -0600mister hexFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272331#Comment_272331
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272331#Comment_272331Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:30:55 -0600keyofsilenceI would then screw with people by pulling the skin off my arm Terminator-style. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272384#Comment_272384
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272384#Comment_272384Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:14:22 -0600SilentObjector
If you really want to euthanise your brain, try a sharp stick or a large rock. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272385#Comment_272385
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272385#Comment_272385Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:18:51 -0600StefanJ
Holy Fire suggests a few. But you could sum it up with: Imagine living in a world where Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin are around forever.

But as audientvoid suggests, just being able to ensure that your later years aren't spent babbling in confusion and lying in your own filth in a nursing home would be quite acceptable. Living in good health until you are 90 and then collapsing into dust might not be a bad thing. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272399#Comment_272399
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272399#Comment_272399Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:35:26 -0600256
So that means the people with the money to get these treatments will be living longer while those who don't won't?

Yeah, that's also my main problem with this sort of discovery.

I don't know where you're going with this. It's not as if a specific longevity treatment would be the first thing to make the rich live longer than the poor. Nor would the solution to this problem appear to be refusing to invent a longevity treatment.

So what's the relevance of the statement? ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272402#Comment_272402
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272402#Comment_272402Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:45:28 -0600Fan
Nor would the solution to this problem appear to be refusing to invent a longevity treatment.

It would in a way: at the moment, people can say, "Oh well, at least everyone dies, we're all equal," or words to that effect.

I'm not saying whether it's a good solution, but it's a part of people's current solution.

Aubrey De Grey's TED talk starts with mentioning various arguments against inventing longetivity, including e.g. "dictators would live forever". ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272404#Comment_272404
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272404#Comment_272404Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:56:28 -0600Brendan McGinleyFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272406#Comment_272406
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272406#Comment_272406Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:08:35 -0600Fan
Judiciously and quietly apply it to the most beneficent souls with the brightest minds in society.

Maybe, just maybe, those souls are working to improve the lives of the world's poorest, not of the richest.

And they are increasing life expectancy: by reducing infant mortality, for example. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272412#Comment_272412
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272412#Comment_272412Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:25:22 -0600RenThing Nor would the solution to this problem appear to be refusing to invent a longevity treatment.

It would in a way: at the moment, people can say, "Oh well, at least everyone dies, we're all equal," or words to that effect.

The assumption is, as with all things medical, those with the money and funds for such a treatment (or therapy or whatever) would be able to get it and those without, obviously, would not, natch those with money living extended lifetimes while the poor don't. The only real equality in life is that we all die in the end. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272419#Comment_272419
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272419#Comment_272419Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:04:42 -0600ArtenshiurThat seems an awful lot like an argument from spite. Sure the selection process may be flawed, but some people would live longer. How is that a bad thing?

Not to say that this necessarily would extend human life per se. Or even be worth doing, given the risks. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272427#Comment_272427
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272427#Comment_272427Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:55:04 -0600ComicbookbunnyFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272435#Comment_272435
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272435#Comment_272435Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:49:07 -0600RenThingNot spite, simple statement of fact. Those with money get to live with treatable medical conditions like diabetes or heart issues and have a better chance of surviving serious illness like cancer simply because they have the money and resources to do so; the poor don't and die. So, why would this be any different if aging is simply reduced (in the far, sci-fi future) to a treatable condition? Notice that at no point did I ever say that this was a reason to not do it.

However, a reason to not do it is, frankly, a matter of resources; particular resources are already showing signs of strain or running out (such as areas that have become over-fished due to demand or areas that are already super-congested as far as the number of people living in one area) and that's with a population with the self-correcting factor of death. How much worse could it be in the event that they manage to make a treatment that not only extends the life times of humans but also extends the time in which they are potentially fertile? Combine long life times with a high reproduction rate with a lengthy viable time and I'd anticipate such resource issues getting a lot worse. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272465#Comment_272465
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272465#Comment_272465Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:45:34 -0600johnjones
If I devised a fountain of youth? Judiciously and quietly apply it to the most beneficent souls with the brightest minds in society. Imagine Einstein's island of the enlightened out there somewhere already.

And how would you ensure that those souls would stay beneficent? We have the Nobel Prize because Alfred Noble read of worldwide celebrations at the mistaken announcement of his death. Nobel established the prize because death was coming and he didn't want to be remembered as a monster. People are complicated and subject to change. Turn Mother Teresa into an 18 year old girl and you might get another lifetime of service to God and man from her. Or, you may get the next Paris Hilton. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272466#Comment_272466
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272466#Comment_272466Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:49:49 -0600BrianMowreyFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272470#Comment_272470
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272470#Comment_272470Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:46:11 -0600RootfireemberIf you have people living forever, how would the economy handle it? would there be enough jobs for people if they remained in the workforce fore infinity, and still kept on having kids? Where would their kids get jobs? What would happen when you got bored and ran out of stuff to do? If the poor could not afford it (and I suspect they wouldn't), it could be seen as a social status thing, in addition to that; and how could the poor compete for higher-wage, higher-expertise jobs when they would have only a fraction of the lifetime to learn whatever super extended education we'd come up with?

Also; if you can heal from pretty much anything, how would that impact society? Would ER trips become a thing of the past? Childhood fights, broken arms, etc. become seen as less of a big deal? Would it make brave actions less so, because, well, you could just heal from whatever? How would this impact friendships, or the value we put on others? Would a non forever-living-human be less valuable than a forever-living one? ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272487#Comment_272487
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272487#Comment_272487Wed, 01 Dec 2010 01:34:12 -0600Ben KlumasterFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272564#Comment_272564
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272564#Comment_272564Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:22:38 -0600SteadyUP

...If we become functionally immortal, we'll stop evolving - at which point, the monkeys come for us.

Imagine Einstein's island of the enlightened out there somewhere already.

If Einstein were still alive and active today, we'd be sitting here talking about how he totally jumped the shark back in the 60s. Being dead is part of what makes people like him seem so awesome years later. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272588#Comment_272588
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272588#Comment_272588Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:47:17 -0600Ben KlumasterFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272608#Comment_272608
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272608#Comment_272608Thu, 02 Dec 2010 06:13:28 -0600NeilFordFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272620#Comment_272620
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272620#Comment_272620Thu, 02 Dec 2010 07:54:54 -0600city creed@NeilFord - It does raise the stakes. But only if everyone gets the youth potion. People with no eternity to lose could be a real liability to have around. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272621#Comment_272621
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272621#Comment_272621Thu, 02 Dec 2010 07:58:56 -0600gzapata I can see it now- Crap we've destroyed the climate, have a mass population of uneducated idiots and only us, dogs, crows and cockroaches are left on the planet ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272623#Comment_272623
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272623#Comment_272623Thu, 02 Dec 2010 08:12:47 -0600VerissimusSay immortality had come about in the 19th century. Would that mean we'd all remain narrowminded Victorian prudes until the end of time? ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272712#Comment_272712
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272712#Comment_272712Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:25:02 -0600PhrankyFountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272745#Comment_272745
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272745#Comment_272745Thu, 02 Dec 2010 23:12:46 -0600ArtenshiurAnyway, I plan on living forever, so this is good news. Though I'd always assumed I'd be doing it Hob Gadling style, so it's not that important. ]]>
Fountain of Youth?http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272877#Comment_272877
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9234&Focus=272877#Comment_272877Fri, 03 Dec 2010 16:36:33 -0600hanjeanThe basics: at the end of each DNA strand, there is a string of nonsense DNA repeats, called the telomeres. Every time a cell in your body divides, a little bit of the DNA ends are snipped off in the process - thus these nonsense telomeres help protect the internals parts of the DNA that code for proteins that you actually need. A hypothesis is that a cause of aging is that most of the telomeres are gone because of the many cell divisions over time, so that either the cell notices they are too short and shuts down, or your necessary DNA is clipped and the cell dies.

Many organisms have an enzyme that can rebuilt these telomeres - telomerase. We humans only have this enzyme in our eggs or sperm.

The 2 major issues with this study are:

1) Mice normally have telomerase active, so their normal aging process would not be related to telomere shortening. Thus knocking it out and adding it back in, as the researchers did, might have a different result than if it were done in humans.

2) Almost all cancers eventually mutate to have telomerase active, allowing them to divide indefinitely. Activating telomerase in our own cells would not cause cancer in itself, but rather if cancer did develop, it would have one less step to take before it became deadly.